Saturday, August 30, 2014

I finally finished the painting of La Virgen de Alta Gracia (Our Lady of High Grace) on August 2nd which coincidentally is the feast of La Virgen del Los Angeles (Our Lady of the Angels). Any one who knows me, knows I have an affinity for Angels and the Virgen Mary, so when I finished on the feast of Our Lady of the Angels, I felt a little awestruck. Here are some images of the final painting!!

Painting on fabric was new for me and a learning experience. So I thought I'd share what I learned from painting on fabric and what I would have done differently. Next time, Before I started painting, I would have prepped the fabric with gesso and textile medium to make the blending of the paints easier. I also would have used a little bit of gesso with sealer on the back of the fabric for laundering purposes before painting. I also wouldn't use any metallic paints and definitely no glitter paint because when u iron to set in the acrylic paints, the metallic paints tend to melt and peel up. I also pre-washed the fabric to take out the sizing that most fabrics have. I used natural fiber fabrics to paint on only. I used a Teflon sheet on the painting while ironing to set in the Acrylic paints. I used a Non-yellowing acrylic sealer after heat setting the paints. I waited 24 hours after painting before ironing and sealing.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Here are some more WIP Progress pictures of the Virgen de la Alta Gracia. As I paint or sculpt, sometimes I feel that I am being guided by something bigger than I am. As I am painting this particular image, I look forward to sitting at my easel. Seeing the beauty of it all coming slowly together with each brush stroke I can feel a peace that comes into my heart. I almost feel like something heavenly takes hold of my hands and guides me to the right angle or right stroke or right color. Before I know it, I am feeling euphoric and peace-filled. I guess what I am trying to say, is that for me Art is like praying. It fills me when I am empty.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Forward with the painting of the Virgin of High Grace, I have a lot of tiny details to still accomplish. So here are some quick pics of the process, I must say that painting on fabric is definitely different. It is a little more difficult to blend the paints together, even with a floating medium. The fabric has some ripples still but I'll iron them out after I finish it. I have to iron it anyway to heat set the acrylic paints anyway.

Monday, June 16, 2014

My art has been a long love of mine but with work and family, I seldom get a chance to do it. So I thought I'd post some of the images of my new project. I am painting on fabric, Our Lady of High Grace which is the patron virgin of the Dominican Republic (La Virgen de la AltaGracia). The country's official patron saint and Queen Protector of the heart of Dominicans. It will be a gift for our departing Franciscan Priest. It will be sewn onto his priestly robes, I am only hand-painting the image.

This is an image of the original painting which is said to have been painted in the late 15th century in Spain. It was mysteriously delivered by a shrouded old man who dropped the painting and disappeared.This portrait of the Virgin Mary in a Nativity scene is also in cloth.

I usually don't do commissions because I usually like to choose subjects that inspire me. I chose to do this painting because it was a gift for our departing parish priest.

So I am starting with my rough sketch first, then I am transferring it onto fabric. Before I trace my sketch onto my fabric I sprayed a fixative on my sketch so that the graphite from the pencil didn't transfer to the fabric. WIP images of the process.

Rough Sketch

Transferred Sketch onto fabric

Started painting the background on the fabric with Acrylic Paints and Textile Medium.

Working on Fabric is a whole different experience. Blending colors is a little harder. I prepped my fabric with a combination of Gesso and Textile Medium so I can be able to have my Acrylic paint blend better. I did notice that to much of this mixture tends to pucker the fabric. So I used it lightly. I am going to heat set the paints with an iron when finished so hopefully the puckers will come out. Stay tuned I will try to post my progress.﻿

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The Queen of Hearts

About Me

My art
is Doll Making, though I am skilled in Fashion Design, the art of Doll
Making has allowed me to tap into what makes me "Soar". Through my
journey as a Doll Artist, I've gained so much respect for the art of Doll Making. Creating dolls takes me to a magical place and time. This art allows me to explore so many different realms of creativity, which I really enjoy because I am never bored. One moment I am sculptor, the next I am a painter, a hair stylist, a cobbler, a fashion designer, a jeweler, a milliner, a photographer, even a carpenter and so much more. With a little imagination, the sky is the limit in doll making. Marrying the contrast between art and magic comes easy to me, I try to pour my heart into each of my sculpts. Being an artist helps me to create the little souls that want to be born from my imagination. Watching the features of these little magical souls come through the clay into being has always inspired me. My only real reason for this blog is to share the magic.